The "Find a Doctor" link is the most visited section of the Salem Health website after the home page. Research shows that consumers want to know more information about their providers.

At the end of October, you will receive an email with a link to a short questionnaire to update your online profile. Please take a few minutes to complete and submit. You will be asked for a short biography, clinical interests, languages spoken and website address.

If you would like a new photo, please mark your calendar to drop in at one of the times below. Please allow five minutes once you are there. If you already have a professional photo you would like to use, please email it to jered.hirtz@salemhealth.org.

Steve Gordon, MD, Chief Medical Officer, has tendered his resignation effective Oct. 30. In Steve's resignation letter he shares: "I've made the difficult decision to leave Salem Health. I have thoroughly enjoyed my few months here, and this time gave me an opportunity to more fully assess organizational needs and what it will take for your chief medical officer to be successful. I've concluded that meeting these demands is unsustainable for my family and me."

Ralph Yates, DO, has agreed to serve as interim chief medical officer effective Nov. 1, 2015, in addition to his current duties as chief medical officer of Willamette Health Partners. It is anticipated that he will function in this capacity as a mentor of the new VP Medical Affairs, Andrew Furman, who will begin his new job on Nov. 30, 2015.

We are aware and working on two persistent issues that have hampered voice communications within hospital buildings.

The first issue is a "bug" with Ascom phones in nursing areas creating dead spots and dropped calls. Physicians experience this as a dropped call or a warbled call, where the voice is distorted.

We have replaced all of the Ascom phones, except for the ones integrated with the nurse call system (most areas of Building A). We have finalized a contract with a vendor for software that will sit between the Philips monitoring systems and the Cisco phone, so the nurses can get alerts on the Cisco phones just like they currently do on the Ascom phones. The project should be done around the end of the year. This should fix the vast majority of these issues. Coverage will improve with the new Cisco phones. Please remember that coverage is internal to the hospital and does not include elevators, stairwells, outdoors, and around certain medical equipment.

The second issue is personal cellphones not working in certain areas, mainly due to lead lined walls, spinning magnets and other physical barriers in the hospital. Unfortunately, there is less that can be done to fix this issue. The recommendation is to use a land line in areas where cell phones consistently do not work.

There are also known places that pagers do not work well, such as the basement of Building B. We have worked with our paging partner, Cook Paging, and they have done some to help, but more than likely paging will not be completely fixable due to structural issues such as being underground, or the fact that glass in building D blocks all cell and micro waves.

Flu vaccinations are more than a convenient way to avoid a few days of feeling crummy. By getting vaccinated, you can reduce transmissions of influenza, protect your colleagues from illness and absenteeism, fend off flu-related illness and reduce hospital-acquired influenza cases. In short, flu vaccinations help us fulfill our mission here at Salem Health: improving the health and well-being of our community.

So if you haven't received your flu shot, look at the schedule and find a time that works well for you. Remember, Nov. 15 is the date that everyone must be in compliance. It will only take a moment and will help keep you, and those around you, healthy.

On Oct. 20, Protonix (pantoprazole) IV boluses of 40 mg IV BID will replace Protonix infusions as the primary medication therapy for patients with a GI bleed. Over the last several years, multiple studies have shown that intermittent boluses of Protonix are non-inferior to Protonix bolus + infusions. This change was approved by P&T during the September meeting and has been endorsed by the gastroenterologists as a group. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Matt Tanner, pharmacy clinical coordinator, at 4-2048.

As of Oct. 13, 2015, Salem Hospital lowdose CT will begin billing insurance for your patients. Medicare, along with most commercial payers, recognize the importance of lung cancer screening and will cover 100 percent of the cost under preventive care.

If your last name begins with L through R, please join us for Breakfast with the CEO on Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 7 to 8 a.m., at Salem Hospital, Building A, 6th floor conference room. Please RSVP to Mary Maberry, physician office liaison, via email or at 503-561-3778.

For more information and to register, visit the CHEC website or call 503-814-2432 (CHEC).

Do your patients have diabetes?

Diabetes education can help patients learn to monitor their blood sugar, manage their medications, plan healthy meals, reduce the risk of diabetes complications and set goals for healthy lifestyle changes.

Services include:

Education for type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes

Diabetes group classes (day and evening classes)

Individual appointments with a nurse or dietitian

Sweet Moms program for pregnant women with diabetes

A physician's referral is required for all services. Most insurance plans cover diabetes education services and if no coverage is available, patients seeking these services may qualify for financial assistance.

Do you have a patient with celiac disease?

Registered dietitians are available at both West Valley Hospital and Salem Hospital to provide medical nutrition therapy. See the referral form.